Sia

Sia is a decentralized storage service with a consumer app and tools for developers adding storage to their own apps. It suits privacy-conscious users and builders comfortable with a peer-to-peer network; its main appeal is device-side encryption, while consumer-plan capacity and network usage rates are separate choices.

Overview

Sia encrypts files on the user’s device before upload, and says nobody else can read them. Files are redundantly held across independent hosts worldwide and can be downloaded from multiple hosts in parallel. That distributed design avoids reliance on a central access point, but it also makes Sia a more specialized choice than a conventional cloud drive.

The project, founded in 2013, describes itself as open source and supported by the nonprofit Sia Foundation and community donations. The Sia Storage site identifies The Sia Storage Company. Sia supports IPFS and describes its network type as hybrid. Support is available through Discord’s help channel or [email protected].

Key features

• Encryption before upload: Files are encrypted on the device, a strong fit for people who want storage hosts unable to read their files.
• Redundant, distributed storage: Independent hosts and parallel downloads spread storage and retrieval across the network rather than a single access point.
• SDKs for app builders: Rust, Go, Python, and JavaScript SDKs provide several routes for integrating Sia storage into applications.
• S3-compatible gateway: The s3d gateway works with rclone, Cyberduck, Nextcloud, Duplicati, and other S3 clients, giving users familiar integration options.
• Self-hosting option: The SDK can connect to any indexer, including one the user hosts, which gives technically capable operators more control over their setup.

Pricing

The consumer plans have straightforward capacity and app limits. The Free plan costs nothing and includes 50 GB storage, 3 apps, and 500 Mbps; it is a useful way to start, but the storage ceiling is modest. Plus costs $7.99 a month for 500 GB, 3 apps, and 500 Mbps. Pro costs $14.99 a month for 5 TB, 5 apps, and 1 Gbps, making it the more capable tier for larger libraries and faster listed bandwidth.

Unlimited costs $19.99 a month and includes 10 TB, 100 apps, and 5 Gbps, with additional storage at $4.99/TB-mo over. It offers substantially more headroom, though the overage rate matters for users who exceed the included 10 TB. The consumer tiers make capacity and speed trade-offs explicit; choose by storage needs rather than assuming the network rates below apply to these plans.

For network use, median rates are $3.53/TB/month for storage at 3X redundancy, $0.03/TB for upload, and $2.25/TB for download. These usage-based rates are a separate developer/network pricing route, not a substitute for the consumer plan prices. They suit builders estimating storage and transfer costs by volume, but variable usage requires tracking uploads and downloads.

Platforms

Sia supports Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows, web, API, and self-hosted use. Desktop and mobile apps make it accessible beyond developer workflows, while API and self-hosting options extend it to custom deployments.

Who it's for

Sia is a good fit for people prioritizing device-side encryption and distributed storage, and for developers who want to build on a peer-to-peer network. Its SDKs, S3-compatible gateway, and self-hosted indexer option offer meaningful flexibility. It is less suited to someone who wants only a conventional drive without engaging with separate consumer and network pricing models.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Encryption occurs before upload; redundant independent hosts and parallel downloads support a distributed model; SDKs cover four languages; the S3-compatible gateway works with several named tools and other S3 clients.
• Cons: The free tier stops at 50 GB; the Unlimited plan charges $4.99/TB-mo beyond its 10 TB allowance; developers must distinguish consumer subscriptions from usage-based network rates.

Alternatives

For more options in this category, browse Decentralized Storage Services.

Choose Peergos if having a fully open-source product, including its server, and reproducible builds is the deciding factor; it has no free plan. Carbide Network is another option with Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, and API support, and a home-provider plan with estimated earnings of $24/year per TB at $0.002/GB.

Walrus has a free launch-period plan, though usage limits apply and pricing may evolve. Stratos is another freemium alternative with a free plan and broad desktop, mobile, web, API, and self-hosted platform coverage.

For an API- and web-focused option, Filebase has a free tier with 5 GB shared storage, 500 pinned files, 10 GB IPFS egress, free object egress, and one bucket. Pinata is another API/web freemium option, with a Picnic plan at $20 a month for 1 agent, 1 TB storage, one gateway plus CDN, 5 million requests, and 500 GB bandwidth.

DeNet Storage is a paid alternative without a free plan. ArDrive offers a free plan and one-time file payments, with no storage cap and uploads under 100 KB free.

Verdict

Choose Sia if you want device-side encryption and distributed storage, or if you are building an application that can benefit from its SDKs and S3-compatible gateway. Its clearest advantage is keeping files encrypted before they leave the device; look elsewhere if you need a simpler single-price model or expect to outgrow the consumer capacity tiers.